Ganbare Goemon is a long running series of games from Konami that has appeared on many
different systems starting from the NES era.
Only three of the games were released on home consoles in North America: The Legend of the
Mystical Ninja for the Super Nintendo, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for the Nintendo 64,
and Goemon's Great Adventure, also for the N64.
However, in Japan the Goemon library of games is much more expansive, boasting over twenty
major titles, making it one of Konami's most prolific and successful intellectual properties.
And in the span of all these releases, the setting, characters, and humorous tone of
the games has remained more or less consistent, with gameplay deviating very little from its
action platformer roots.
The best way to sum up the Goemon series is fun, wacky, and oh-so Japanese.
Good times, good times.
Sadly, there hasn't been a major Goemon title since 2005, and the future doesn't look too
promising for the series.
But interestingly enough, in the early 2000s Konami did make an attempt to rejuvenate and
reimagine its legendary IP with a futuristic makeover, which took place in the form of
Goemon Shin Sedai Shuumei for the PSOne and Goemon New Age Shutsudou for the Gameboy Advance.
I'll take a look at the latter in this video, which is essentially a stripped-down, re-imagined
port of the former.
Gone is the whimsical and folky Edo-era Japan setting of the previous games, and it its
stead are futuristic highways, metropolitan cities, and...convenience stores.
The characters all go through some major changes too, most likely to appeal to the gaming demographics
of the time...which translated to a generic, extreme, and SPIKY anime style that lacks
any of the creativity or charm of its predecessors.
Take the kunoichi Yae, for example, a serious, capable, long-haired female ninja wearing
*GASP*, clothing that actually covers her entire body, a first for female ninjas in
Japanese pop culture...Well, in the new games, she is replaced with Yui, a ditzy, ineffectual,
hormone-driven girly girl clothed in what can only be described as what ninjas wear
when they go out clubbing.
Awful.
Impact, the friendly giant robot that aids Goemon and his companions along their many
journeys in combating more colossal foes, went from being a completely unique and stylized
concoction made up of primitive technology, to a bland machine that would be hard to distinguish
from a line of any other giant mecha manga or games.
And worst of all, Goemon's goofy, loveable sidekick Ebisumaru...has been turned into
this.
NO.
Uh-uh...no, no, no...just...NO.
Anyway, about the game itself, it's a decent 2D action adventure game, with the core of
the gameplay consisting of 2D platforming action stages similar to its predecessors...however,
unlike the older games, most of the stages aren't very memorable and are a bit overly
long, linear, and repetitive.
There are some fun platforming sections, though getting through them can be tricky at times
due to the controls.
While the older Goemon games had a nice, fluid feel when moving and jumping, New Age Shutsudou
suffers from stiff, almost robotic movement.
Perhaps it is due to the tiny d-pad of the Gameboy Advance, but even using the analog
stick on the GameCube controller, the movement still feels rigid.
You can switch between Goemon and Ebisu on the fly, and both control the same except
for differences with their attacks.
Goemon's pipe attack hits fast, whereas Ebisu's hammer hits slow, but for more damage.
Late in the game, it takes two hits from Goemon to take down most enemies, but Ebisu can accomplish
this with a single hit.
Which character is best to use depends on the situation, but to be honest, it really
is best to use Ebisu more often than not because of the added power of her hammer.
The major downside to this, however, is constantly having to listen to her voice...her terribly
shrill and annoying voice...you'll hear it every time you attack, every time you jump...it
just does not stop...stop it...stop it...stop it!
Goemon New Age Shutsudou does mix up the gameplay a bit with swimming and shooting stages.
There are two swimming stages in which you take control of the afformentioned Yui and
are given 360 degree control, and two shooting stages playing as the characters Sasuke and
Yoshitsune.
These stages are pretty fun and are a nice change of pace from standard platforming.
Different levels of the game are accessed from an overworld map spread across four different
areas, and any stage can be played multiple times after its initial completion.
Aside from the action stages, there are town portions, which are a staple of the Goemon
series.
Here you can stay at an inn or buy food to recover health, stock up on defense items,
talk to townsfolk, etc., etc.
You can also save your progress at the inn.
Due to the abundance of health power-ups dropped by defeated foes, New Age Shutsudou is a cakewalk
for the most part, and your biggest enemies in the game are falling to death and running
out of time for a stage.
Oh yes, there is a time limit in the game, which can be extended with clock items scattered
throughout the level.
I don't really know why there is a time limit, as it is completely unnecessary, but if I
had to guess, it would be to add some artificial challenge to the game.
As I mentioned before, action stages tend to be pretty long, and the strict time limit
forces you to run through the stage as fast as possible.
It makes the game feel very...GAMEY, and speaking of GAMEY, you also have a limited number of
lives, and once you run out of them, it's game over, resetting any collected health
power ups and money to default.
It's frustrating, unnecessary, and really adds nothing positive to the game experience.
Next, I'll mention the different types of boss battles--there's one in which you control
Goemon or Ebisu in a controlled arena, the normal fare.
And another where you take control of the giant robot Impact in a first-person view,
much like other titles in the Ganbare Goemon series.
The normal boss battles can be difficult, but are made much easier with armor and rice
balls which are purchased in towns.
With these, you can take enough hits to just repeatedly whack your opponent in his, OR
HER, face until you win.
The Impact boss battles, in contrast, are challenging and actually require some strategy
to complete.
Impact fights made a nice transition to the GBA, and capture the look and feel of their
console counterparts pretty well!
The only problem is that for all the effort put into the Impact sections, there are only
TWO in the entire game--one in the beginning and one in the middle.
The final stage ends with two boss fights in a row...which are just standard, uninspired
boss fights.
It would have made more sense to include one last Impact battle for the finale, but I guess
the developers just got lazy or had no time to include it.
Either way, it's a disappointing, wasted opportunity.
Last, I'll mention the graphics.
As you can see from the videos, Goemon New Age Shutusdou is not a bad looking game by
any means, but it's also not very appealing, either.
The Impact boss fight sections look pretty good for a Gameboy Advance game, and I like
the look of the town sections, but the rest of the game's visuals are just OK.
You might think that it was just because it was released relatively early in the GBAs
life cycle, but other games that came out before it, such as Golden Sun, Tactics Ogre:
The Knight of Lodis, and another Konami game, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, had far
superior graphics both technically and artistically.
Graphics don't make a game, for sure, but they can certainly add to the overall experience
of a game.
And comparing the aesthetics of this game with those of say, Legend of the Mystical
Ninja, which was released ten years before it, it's hard not to feel let down by the
lack of polish and effort put into the visuals.
Overall, Goemon New Age Shutsudou is an interesting, albeit disappointing entry in the Ganbare
Goemon franchise.
The gameplay is dumbed down, the new futuristic setting is not utilized well at all, and it
lacks much of the charm that defines the series.
But as a portable action platforming game, it's not bad at all, and despite all the game's
limitations and flaws, there is still a lot of fun to be had.
It's a pretty hard to find game these days, so if you are into game collecting and see
this game, pick it up.
Thanks for watching, and please rate or comment.
And please check out my channel for future videos in this series.